Sorry, I didn't mean to take a massive break there. I got a bit bogged down in wedding planning there for a bit ... But it all happened on 21st May, so I'm back now! Wanna see a few snaps?
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Music by The Syndics (my brother and our friends!), photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
We had some lovely foodstuffs, mainly courtesy of the parents, who managed to cater for about 65 people over 3 days. I have a lot of cooking to do before I can live up to their fine example!
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| Menu board by my little sister, photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photos by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Barbecued new season Welsh lamb Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Our favourite Ottolenghi quinoa salad Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
And I made a heart shaped butter sponge layer cake with elderflower buttercream and strawberries.
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
What, you mean not every bride takes time out in the afternoon to ice a cake?
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| Photo by Lauren McGlynn |
So, I had to share this recipe. The cake is from Darina Allen's Forgotten Skills of Cooking
. It is her great-grandmother's butter sponge and when she says it's "the best sponge cake you'll ever taste", she really isn't lying. It is also a great sponge cake recipe because the cake tastes just as good the next day (after that, things start to go downhill a little, but it's still nice to eat for a few days more).
I'm not going to give you the recipe from the elderflower buttercream. We got the idea from Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache
, but that recipe seemed to have much too much sugar in it. Suffice to say it was a mixture of butter, icing sugar and elderflower cordial. And strawberries are just strawberries, I guess! I sliced them for the filling (or more accurately my friend Ruth did - this was a wedding with many helpers!), but, as we were going for hearts, decorated the top with halves.
Darina Allen's Great-Grandmother's Butter Sponge
125g butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. In the original recipe, Darina suggests using 2 x 18cm cake tins, but I used one (heart shaped!) one and then cut it in half. (The big cake above is two cakes each halved.) Either way, grease with melted butter, dust with flour and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, whisking until soft and pale. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well in between. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and stir in gradually. Mix together lightly and add the milk. Pour into the tin(s). Hollow it in the centre. (I found this really rose up in the centre, so if you want a flat cake, really hollow it out.) Bake for 20-25 minutes if it's two cake, slightly longer if you're making one (about half an hour). When it's done, the cake will have shrunk away from the tin a little and the centre should feel the same texture as the edge. Cool on a wire tray.
And I promise to be back soon with more recipes. I've got a couple of new favourites that I really must share. I've become completely obsessed with my new book Food From Plenty
, so I'll have to share one of the gems from there. And I'm starting a new challenge this Friday, in which my mates choose a recipe book and I cook for them from it, so that should get me exploring my cookbooks!
. It is her great-grandmother's butter sponge and when she says it's "the best sponge cake you'll ever taste", she really isn't lying. It is also a great sponge cake recipe because the cake tastes just as good the next day (after that, things start to go downhill a little, but it's still nice to eat for a few days more).I'm not going to give you the recipe from the elderflower buttercream. We got the idea from Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache
, but that recipe seemed to have much too much sugar in it. Suffice to say it was a mixture of butter, icing sugar and elderflower cordial. And strawberries are just strawberries, I guess! I sliced them for the filling (or more accurately my friend Ruth did - this was a wedding with many helpers!), but, as we were going for hearts, decorated the top with halves.Darina Allen's Great-Grandmother's Butter Sponge
125g butter
175g caster sugar
3 eggs
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp milk
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. In the original recipe, Darina suggests using 2 x 18cm cake tins, but I used one (heart shaped!) one and then cut it in half. (The big cake above is two cakes each halved.) Either way, grease with melted butter, dust with flour and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Cream the butter and gradually add the sugar, whisking until soft and pale. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well in between. Sieve in the flour and baking powder and stir in gradually. Mix together lightly and add the milk. Pour into the tin(s). Hollow it in the centre. (I found this really rose up in the centre, so if you want a flat cake, really hollow it out.) Bake for 20-25 minutes if it's two cake, slightly longer if you're making one (about half an hour). When it's done, the cake will have shrunk away from the tin a little and the centre should feel the same texture as the edge. Cool on a wire tray.
And I promise to be back soon with more recipes. I've got a couple of new favourites that I really must share. I've become completely obsessed with my new book Food From Plenty
, so I'll have to share one of the gems from there. And I'm starting a new challenge this Friday, in which my mates choose a recipe book and I cook for them from it, so that should get me exploring my cookbooks! 
